Hike
by sarcasticeggplant
Summary: *Part Two of At An Academy of Death, Life Sure is Hectic* (eventual SoMa/TsuStar/MCronaxKid/JackiexKim)
1. Chapter 1: Soul Eater's Day Off

Hey guy's, decided to make this it's own separate part two story, hope it butters your egg roll :-)

 _ **Soul Eater's Day Off**_

"You're such a little bitch," Black-Star murmured as he stepped out of the bathroom connected to their dorm room, a damp towel hanging loosely over his shoulders with a trail of steam pouring out from the doorway behind him.

Soul groaned in bed, pulling the sheets over his head before Black-Star could fully catch the grin spread across his cheeks.  
Early dawn sunlight filtered in through the window, illuminating the semi-gloss posters that hung on the walls to cover scuffs and chipped paint. An old eighties band played softly from the worn stereo after Black-Star popped in a throwback CD, the music mixing in with the sound of early morning chaos from the other students and birds chirping outside their window.  
He fake coughed, stifling a life.  
"I'm sick."

" _Boo, you whore,"_ Black-Star chuckled, mimicking a high-pitched early twentieth liglossed teenage girl as he threw a clean polo and a pair of not-so-clean socks on his desk chair.  
"I don't understand how you skip all the time without an crazy ass teacher's on your ass," he said, pulling on a pair of khakis with a little hop as he fumbled to get his foot through the panthole, "If I missed one day Ms. Leech would come here and beat me with a copy of Crime & Punishment. Trust me, she's threatened to before…"

"Don't act like Azusa isn't always on my ass," Soul mumbled from underneath his comforter, "I feel like she makes up for all the strictness Headmaster Death lacks. You know walked Hiro all the way back to the dorm so he could put on a pair of 'more appropriate shoes'? Ridiculous…"  
Suddenly, the darkness from underneath the blanket snapped into blinding sunshine as Black-Star ripped the covers down, his face a few feet from Soul's.

"You know today we have that huge chemistry review for midterms and a test in AP history?" Black-Star said, raising an eyebrow, his tie hanging undone over the collar of his polo.

"Ah darn, really wanted to be there for that…" Soul said, a smirk breaking out on his face.

"Screw you man," Black-Star scoffed, a hint of humour in his tone. He flung his Jansport backpack over his shoulder before throwing open the door and stepping into the hall.

"You forget to tie the tie!" Soul shouted, folding his arms behind his bed as he laid back in bed.

"Tsubaki will get it," Black-Star called back before slamming the door shut, the clinking of the keys in the lock sounding before he ran off to first period class.

The next track on the CD began to play, the cheery tune lulling Soul to open his eyes, shaking off the sleepiness that hung over him from being up all night shooting hoops at the court with the gang and trying to study for AP history. Something about grapes and wrath.

"Man, to waste such a good day," Soul murmured to himself, peering out the window. The weather was supposed to be decent, cool for Nevada which meant no steaming sunburns and dehydration.  
It was the perfect day to just live. Take a stroll around Death City where the crowds of tourists and busy city people pace up and down the sidewalks lined with restaurants and museums and a thousand different places calling for a good time.  
It should be outlawed to force a group of kids to sit inside a jail cell all day learning the process of photosynthesis and organic chemistry when they could hang in the central park among the green grass and trees to experience it first hand with a little fresh air.  
Nothing could beat that.

* * *

"Soul, I feel like absolute ass," Kid's voice muttured from Soul's phone that sat on his unmade bed among his worn pajamas and a pile of clean socks that hadn't been (and probably won't ever be) sorted.

"Well, I think it'd be worth it to feel like absolute ass somewhere cool then alone in bed all day, huh?" Soul said back, standing in front of an old mirror leaning up against the wall as he smoothed a white t-shirt over his chest.

"No," Kid yawned with the sound of him shifting under the covers following. "I think I'd much rather sleep it off in bed. Besides, my dad would literally have my head over the mantle if he knew."

"Cool," Soul said, running a hand through his hair to combat his bed head before plopping down on his bed while he shoved on a pair of fire red old school Vans. "So, I'll be at your house in like 15, alright?"  
A few moments of silent passed while Soul stood up and threw on a Nike pullover, grabbing a drawstring bag and slinging it over his shoulders. "Well?" he said, staring down at his phone.

"I'll see you," Kid said defeated before hanging up the phone, leaving Soul smirking to himself as he slipped it in his pocket before walking out into the fresh spring air.

"How'd you get in?" Kid said, nearly five minutes after Soul hung up, slipping into a weathered jean jacket that looked very out of place hanging in his closet of black and navy blazers and pressed stark white dress shirts.

"Weird seeing you not in your uniform or a suit," Soul teased as he scanned in room, in awe at how clean he kept it with tall bookshelves lining one wall with his large master bed centered against the back wall between two large bay windows. "Sick room."

"Yeah, sick," Kid murmured, sniffling his nose that was nearly as red as Soul's sneakers. "Where we heading off too?"

Soul grinned leaning against Kid's closet door. "Actually, first we're going to need to stop back at Shibusen…"  
"You know the password to your dad's computer, right?"

* * *

"Is Lord Death in?" Marie asked as she stood in the archway of Azusa's office, a shiny plaque displaying the words 'dean of students' in black cursive mounted on the door.

Azusa shook her head as she typed away on her computer, her neat long nails clicking against the keyboard, "No, he's out on business terms. Is there an issue?"

"Oh, no. I just got an email from him saying Maka Albarn has an excused absence?" Marie said. "I assume her father said something to Death? They're close, I know."

Azusa furrowed her brows, still focusing on her computer screen as the monitor light glinted off her glasses. "Odd that Death would be the one contacting you with that…"  
"Soul's been marked absent for his first period class as well…"

"Well, I just wanted to run it by you," Marie said, stepping back into the hall, "I'll just go grab her from class," she said with a smile before walking off.

Azusa sighed.  
"Mr. Evans…"

* * *

"What the hell are two doing here?!" Maka shouted as Soul sat in the passenger seat of Kid's black Jeep Wrangler with the window rolled down. She stomped down the stone steps leading up to Shibusen and over to Soul.

"C'mon, we're taking the day off!" Soul yelled back, a big smile plastered on his tanned face.

"Day off?!" Maka said fiercely, "What do you mean day off!?"  
Maka crossed her arms and peered into the car. "Kid, you're apart of this?"

"I'm just as much of a victim as you," Kid said, pushing his tinted sunglasses down the bridge of his nose to look at her. "There's no escaping him."

Maka huffed and hopped into the backseat, throwing her backpack to the empty spot next her. She leaned forward and glanced at each of the boys as Kid started up the car and began zooming off. The sound of wind vibrating through the car from the open sun roof above them.  
She sighed.  
"Where are we headed?"

* * *

Modern art pieces in a variety of styles and vibrant colors covered the walls, assorted into neat rows or large adults dressed in mom jeans with Kanken backpacks slung over their shoulders filed up and down the rooms with sketchbooks in hand.

"I've never been to an art museum like this," Kid said as the three of the passed through a room filled with mannequins donning gaudy pieces of modern asymmetrical clothing.  
He frowned. "I can understand why."

Soul laughed as he slipped his hand into Maka's. "It's modern art, Kid," Soul said, "All the fresh ideas and creations."  
They stopped at blank wall filled with a collage of pictures of kids about their age depicting everyday scenes as well as scenery.  
"I like it," he said, "Everyone's seen all the Van Gogh and Monet a million times over; their famous pieces made by famous people, you know? Most of them about old time shit with old time styles." He nodded to the photos on the wall. "But this is new, interesting...unknown, I guess. There's always something new to experience here."

"I think it's pretty cool," Maka laughed, her eyes falling on a simple picture of a girl leaning against a brightly colored brick wall, "Something about them is relatable, you know? And yeah, it's different from the usual stuff. I think I like it too."  
Kid shrugged, wandering away from the three into a seperate room where soft music could be heard from inside.

"I didn't know you were into photography, too," Maka said, looking over at Soul whose eyes were glued to the assortment on the wall.

Soul shrugged. "I like art, all of it. Like this stuff, this is stuff we could make together, you know? It probably won't be worth anything necessarily, because well first off who even determines whether art is worth something or not, but it'll have meaning to us. I think it's kind of cool to see other people's interpretation of what's meaningful to them."  
He shook his head and laughed, finally making eye contact with her. "Sorry, I'm rambling on."

"No, it's cool," Maka giggled, giving his hand a soft squeeze before letting go to reach into her backpack.  
"Wanna make our own meaningful shit show?" she said with a smile, holding an old polaroid camera that Killik had given to her.

Soul chucked, taking the camera into his hands. He stepped a few feet back and shot one of Maka, standing in front of the display in her school uniform with a large smile spread across her cheeks.  
"Beautiful," he whispered.

The time flew by, a whirlwind of laughs and cheesy poses and colors.  
They sat on a small stone bench in a room whose walls were made up of glowing purple stained glass, leaving the dim room in a wash of violet.

Soul leaned against the arm of the bench as Maka arranged the photos in order, giving each of them names with a black permanent marker she dug out of her backpack.  
He smiled at her, resting his elbow on the back of the bench to lay his cheek into his hand. "Hope you're having more fun here than in Stein's class."

Maka chuckled, sitting upright and capping the marker. "I guess this is a little bit better than organic chemistry."  
Soul raised an eyebrow.  
"Alright, alright," she sighed, "A LOT better than organic chemistry." She shook her head, looking down at the photos strewn about. "Do you like hanging out with me? Like, do you have fun with me?"

"Yeah, of course, Maka," Soul said, a little shocked, "Why would you ever think I didn't?"

Maka sighed and shook her head. "I don't know," she shrugged, "You're just, so cool you know? Like you play the guitar and ride a motorcycle, your good at basketball and music, hell, you tell the craziest stories and always have the craziest ideas…"  
"And I'm just me. I'm just Maka-"

"Hey, you're not just 'Maka'" Soul said before she could continue, messing with a fraying string from his pullover. "At least not to me, and I don't know how anyone else could see as just 'Maka'".  
"You're amazing- you're incredible,dedicated...I've never seen anyone put even half amount of work in as you do because you're not afraid of a challenge. You care about other people, even if people make fun of you for it, and you're not afraid to stand up to someone. Your strong and your brave, and you're beautiful. So fucking beautiful," he chuckled, finally meeting your eyes. "And you're just you. You love to dance around in your cherry red Doc Martens to folk music, you can't leave your house without a tube of chapstick, you have a burning hatred for low rise jeans…,"  
He shrugged, "I love everything about you."

"Where you guys want to head to next?" Kid said, breaking the moment as he strolled in. "By the way, don't walk into the dance exhibits."  
"It's pretty weird shit."

* * *

 _A few miles away..._

* * *

"Something is definitely up," Azusa muttered under her breath, stepping into an old battered arcade that stood as a hotspot near the outer edges of Death City with it's overly greasy pizza and retro video games.

"What ya need?" a bartender called out to her, leaning against the counter with his elbows. "Uh, you lookin' for your kid or somethin'?"

Azusa's eyes narrowed on a lanky teenager across the room with her back towards her.  
Blonde hair tucked under a cowboy hat and long, slim legs.

"Bingo," Azusa said aloud, narrowing her eyes and paying the bartender no attention who gave her a lazy stare.

"Psh, bitch," the bartender murmured.

"I'm thinking a month of Saturday morning detentions, hm?" Azusa whispered to the blonde, the hairs on her arms standing up, "But maybe I'll lessen that if you give me note of where Mr. Evans could possibly be?"

The girl turned around, her eyes a vibrant baby blue with blunt bangs hovering right above her thick eyebrows.  
With not even a moment passing by her innocent baby face twisted in anger.  
"Who the fuck are you!?"

"Except me young lady, that is no language to be use towards an adult!" Azusa said sternly back to her, "Shouldn't you be attending school as well?"

"'I'd fucking oughta-" the blonde shouted, raising her hand to possibly smack Azusa with a sketchbook she held opened to a page of a half sketched giraffe before another girl behind grabbed her by the wrist.

"Hey, just forget her," her friend said, concern showing in her eyes that were smothered in a thick shimmery blue shadow.  
"Let's get out of here, Patti."

* * *

"Soul this is crazy!" Maka whispered fiercely as the three of them were seated in an upscale bistro inside the heart of Death City's wealthy section where the streets were lined with intricate street lights and important business people donning designer sunglasses and bags.

"It's cool, no one is going to mess with Death's son," Soul said back as a waiter in a black suit poured him a glass of ice water with lemon.  
"Thanks man," he said, causing the waiter, a short man with an abnormally point nose, to pucker his lips and grimace.

"I haven't been here in forever," Kid said, staring down at the array of silverware assorted properly around his plate, "it must have been before everything went down…"

"Hey don't get yourself down!" Soul said, shooting a spit ball at him with a straw he requested and a bit of napkin, "Let's enjoy ourselves, and have a nice ass meal."

Maka rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to kick him under the table.  
"You've been feeling alright, Kid?"

Kid looked up and grinned. "Yeah, pretty alright despite being knocked up on cold medication and being kidnapped by some albino delinquent," he said just to be pelted by another spitball.

"Soul, stop being to immature, we're in a fucking five class restaurant!" Maka shrieked as a spitball smacked against her cheek.

"Shit, how do you have such good aim?" Kid said as he studied the straw in his hand.

"Kid, what the hell!" Maka shouted as Soul hit Kid with another.

"SOUL!" Maka whispered fiercely, chucking a bun from the bread bowl at him, only to have it fly over his spiked hair into the soup of a lady at a nearby table.

"I soup-pose that was meant for me," Soul said as he and Kid bursted out into laughter as the lady looked appalled at the broth staining her cream colored blazer."

"I expect nothing else for you too," Maka sighed as Soul nearly cried from laughter while Kid broke into a fit of coughing mixed in with loud giggles, the entire restaurant with eyes trained on the trio shaking their heads.

* * *

The city park held a large stone fountain connected by pathways situated in between rows of sturdy oak trees and wooden picnic tables with couples names and profanity etched into their surfaces.

"You really love," Kid said as he leaned against the trunk of a tree, sitting on his jacket next to Soul as the two of them watched Maka stand on the edge of the fountain while she tossed in whatever lose change she could find in her backpack.

Soul nodded, watching her school skirt billow along with his Nike pullover he let her borrow. "More than anything," he whispered, his words nearly being drowned out by the sound of kids shouting as they flew kites near the open patch of grass nearby.  
"Hey, are you really feeling okay? Back at the restaurant…"

"Yeah, everything's been a lot better," Kid grinned, hugging his knees and resting his head on his arm. "I'm glad I'm here with you guys...I'm glad we all ended up together like this."

"Friends," Soul said, a soft smile on his face. "I want you to know were here for you, for days like this to chill out and have fun, but also the bad times. To just experience life together and be sad together and, I don't know, live together. We've got your back bro."

"Thanks-" Kid said, his eyes falling on a man with his same yellow eyes in a dark business suit making his way down the brick walkway surrounded by a group of like-dressed men heartily laughing away with him.  
"Father."

Soul turned his head and caught Kid's gaze. "Headmaster Death," he said panicky, looking back at Maka who stood out in the open while she continued toss in pennies, blissfully unaware.  
He picked a nearby stone and grimaced while the craned his arm back.  
"Sorry Maka," he winced before chucking it.

The stone smacked against her calf with just enough force to knock her sideways into the water with a splash while Headmaster Death walked on by, the chatter of his comrades overpowering Maka's cussings.

Kid peered from behind the trunk of the tree that he and Soul skirted behind.  
"Wow, you really do have good aim."

* * *

"God, he would've killed me," Kid said angrily as he sat in the driver's seat, leaning back in the seat as the afternoon traffic rolled by slowly.  
"I hate how nervous the guy makes me," he muttered.

"Hey, don't let it spoil our day," Soul said, nudging him in the ribs with his elbow. "He didn't, and you can't live your life tip-toeing around what your dad wants from you, you know? You have to live your own life."

Kid sighed. "I know, you're right," he said, glancing at Maka through the rear view mirror who caught his gaze and stuck her tongue out at him with wet strands of hair sticking to her damp cheeks.  
He chuckled. "No, I'm glad this day happened, I hope there's more of these times. A lot more."  
He turned up the radio and rolled down the windows while the cars staring moving by and eventually the city buildings began to whip by in a blur of colors as the trio sang their hearts out and probably annoyed whomever drove by.

* * *

The afternoon sun nearly reached the beginning of sunset with a pale orange tint hovering above the horizon line.  
Groups of students laid sprawled out on blankets among textbooks and frisbees flying ahead on the patches of open grass spread around Shibusen, trying to enjoy what they could of the warm weather and sunshine.

"Soul Evans," a voice said behind Soul as he neared the entrance to the boy's dorm after walking Maka back to her side of campus before a quick kiss goodbye.  
"Ms. Azusa," he said, trying to mask his nerves, "What can I help you with?"

"I'm here to talk about your unexcused absences from today? You see, here at Shibusen we don't allow students to skip class unless obtaining a note from the nurse or-"

"Soul!" Black-Star shouted as he stepped out of the dorm room in a pair of basketball shorts and slides. "You feeling better, bro? Hope the walk helped your headache, you didn't vomit again right?"  
Azusa shot him a glare before turning her gaze back to Soul with an angry expression.

Soul bit back a smile.  
"Oh dear, I feel so light-headed, if I don't get back to bed I think I might throw up right here right now," he sighed dramatically, "In my weakened state, it seems I passed out in bed before I could make it to the nurse, but I assure you it won't happen again, Ms."

"Come on, buddy, let's get you back to bed," Black-Star said, guiding Soul back to the dorm, leaving Azusa outside with her arms crossed in anger for a few moments before she stopped off angrily.

Black-Star locked their bedroom door behind him and the two boys stared at each other before cracking up with Soul nearly falling onto the floor in laughter.

"Thanks, mom," Soul laughed, leaning back against the wall as Black-Star plopped into his desk chair. "How was the day?"

Soul stretched and closed his eyes lazily with a smile.  
"Just your average day off."

* * *

A/N: Obviously inspired by the best movie in the whole world and by some warm day we had in the middle of the freezing cold that made me really happy. Sorry if there's any mistakes, I'll reread it over later on, xoxo sarcasticeggplant


	2. Chapter 2: Revivals and Denim Jackets

Well here I am, sitting in the school library typing this instead of doing my English work. Wow guys, what was this story? It makes me cackle and kinda cringe a bit, but I still hold it close to my heart, you know? I miss writing for you guys, it was like my guilty pleasure, haha. So uh, I guess here we go again? School is literally kicking my ass so I don't think I'll be updating that often. I love my school's IB program!¡!

* * *

P2 Chapter 1:

 _Maka_

The fluorescent white classroom lights were replaced with the warm sun spilling in through the large glass windows, giving the room a bright yellow tint. A warm breeze drifted through, causing a few papers to float off their desks and turning textbook pages. It was a promising sign that summer was soon approaching.

"I'd kill for another week of spring break," Maka sighed to Kid as she swiped up her homework that blew onto the tile floor, "The weather has been so much nicer this week."

"Shocked to hear you say that," Kid grinned as he leaned back in his chair, enjoying the sun's warm rays against his pale cheek, "You always seem so into school."

"Yeah, but second semester exams are going to kick my ass, it's going to take all I gotta stay on top," Maka said with a semi-sweet smile, "At least it's Friday…Soul invited you to the party on the east side tonight, right?"

"Yeah, I'll be there," Kid nodded, "Anything really beats being at home right now."

Maka frowned. "Is everything going okay?" she asked, the sound of the bell ringing, initiating the start of last period and nearly cutting off the last of her words.

Their attention clicked to the front of the room where a rather short man with a long pointed nose walked in, a new substitute who was replacing Professor Stein while he's away on honeymoon with Mrs. Marie.  
"Wait, wasn't that the rude waiter from the steakhouse downtown?" Maka whispered to Kid who nodded slowly in response.

"Weird," Kid said back in a low tone, "I've never seen him around the school before..."

"Hello, class," the man said in a gruff voice, placing a thin binder with a sound bang on the metal podium. He took a few moment to skim the class with an unsettling grin spread across his face.  
It was apparent he remembered the two of them.  
"You may call me, Mr. Mosquito," he said finally, "I'll be your professor this Friday in place of Mr. Stein. Furthermore, I'd also like to introduce myself as Shibusen's future vice principal."

Kid's brows furrowed in confusion.  
"Shibusen's never had a vice principal before..."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Mosquito continued with the same smile never leaving his expression.  
"Now, shall we begin with the chemistry lesson?"

* * *

 _Soul_

"This sucks complete ass," Soul said as he flipped through a homework packet Ms. Leech just slammed onto his desk with a side glare.  
She knew damn well he was going to cheat.

"Doesn't it?" a girl said, turning around in her seat to face him. She wore two dutch braids down her back and had an array of freckles poking out under a thick layer of foundation.

"It's total bullshit," Soul sighed, shoving the packet in the back of his bookbag.  
"You one of the new transfers?" he said suddenly, looking back up at her, "I don't remember seeing you here in class before break."

She smiled, her teeth a perfect white. "Yeah, from the midwest," she giggled, twirling one of the braids in her fingers that were each topped with a coffin shaped acrylic nail. "Not to sound creepy, but you're Soul, right?" she asked, "I've heard about you."

"Maybe I am, were the things good?" Soul smirked, folding his arms behind his head and lounging lazily in his chair.

"Very good," the girl laughed, glancing back to make sure Ms. Leech wasn't about to come over and smack a ruler on her desk, but to her relief she was busy berating another student about the meaning of breasts in Macbeth.  
"Hey, I heard there's a party near the east side tonight, you're gonna be there?"  
Soul nodded.  
"Cool," she said, "I didn't want to be the awkward new girl hanging around there so if you see me come by and say hey. You seem pretty chill."

"I try my best," Soul shrugged, occasionally peering up at the clock that was about to signal the end of the first week back from spring vacation and a weekend full of homework procrastination and naps.  
"Your name by the way?"

The girl flashed him another blinding smile.  
"Tsugumi."

* * *

 _Maka_

"Father never mentioned hiring a vice principal…" Kid thought aloud to himself as he leaned against the row of lockers.  
"Shibusen's never had one before, and to hire one this late in the year..."

"He seems a lil off," Maka shrugged, as she packed her bag, shoving in textbooks to study and annotate over the weekend, "But I guess Stein did too when I first met him. I'm sure it's nothing major."  
Kid shrugged as he stared blankly off into the hall where students walked along in a blur of movement and chatter, not focusing his gaze anywhere specific.  
"You good, Kid?" Maka asked slinging her backpack over her shoulders, closing her locker with a slam, "You've been kind of out of it all day…"

"Just wondering about a lot of things, I guess," Kid said, slipping his hands in the side pockets of his blazer that he insisted on wearing despite the heat. Even though it was a required part of the uniform, most upperclassmen left it tossed in the back of their lockers.  
"Like, about how people change and come and go," he said before a smile broke out on his face. "I sound all philosophical now, huh?" he joked, "But, I don't know, there's just a lot on my mind and my dad's been pressuring myself a lot about my image, especially with college coming up and all that...I kind of wanna dump my textbooks in a bonfire and roast s'mores over it."

Maka laughed at this and shook her head, blonde tendrils of her hair bouncing with each chuckle. "I'm kind of starting to feel that way too, maybe we'll have a chemistry roast after finals and burn ever organic chemistry equation we can get our hands on," she giggled.  
He grinned back at her, his eyes still seeming distant.  
"C'mon, let's start heading out. Is it cool if we all uber to the party tonight? Soul offered to pay as long as we agree to drag his drunk ass home before midnight so-"  
Her words lost themselves in the back of her throat as her eyes locked with a girl whose hair was twisted back against her head in double dutch braids walking along with a tall boy.

"Maka?" Kid said, grabbing her and pulling her to the side of the hallway to let the other kids walk by. "What was that?"

" _Tsugumi. Akane."_  
It couldn't have been, but there was no way Maka could have forgotten the faces.  
"It's a long story," she said, a panicky rising inside her as her cheeks began to burn a vibrant pink.  
"Let's just get out of here."

* * *

 _Soul_

Soul once again stood among crowds as people drank and danced to blasting music. The roomy penthouse building was washed in a red-violet lights due to Christmas lights being strung around the blacked out window with a faint cloud of smoke picking up rays of light hanging close to the ceiling.  
"Wonder where Maka ran off to…" he wondered to himself as he stood with his back against the wall, can of beer in hand. Jackie had vanished into the crowd and was nearly indistinguishable among the other brunettes walking by in dark tight dresses and high heeled pumps. He couldn't make out the top of Kim's pink head either.

"Hey, glad I finally found you here," a voice said, barely audible over the music.  
Soul turned to find Tsugumi standing next to him in a deep blue off the shoulder dress, her hair unbraided and falling in long strands of beachy waves against her back. "This place is a lot bigger than you think, pretty nice," she said with a smirk, her eyes appearing to be glowing purple in the light.

Soul nodded as he took a sip from his can.  
"Yeah, right?" he said, his eyes scanning the room as he leaned against the wall, "This is probably somewhere I'd wanna live when I'm older…"

She suddenly looped her arm around his bicep and tugged.  
"C'mon," Tsugumi said, "I want you to meet my friend Akane."

"Oh, sure," Soul said, as she walked him across the room, eyes of familiar Shibusen students looking over and checking her out, the new girl with the good hair and intimidating eyes. He made a mental note to keep Hiro far, far away from her.

"I brought him!" Tsugumi called out as they both walked out onto one of the many balconies, this one overlooking the central park where a large fountain stood in the direct center with its geysers still bubbling even this late at night.  
Her arm slipped out of his as the tall boy turned, his flowy back hair gelled to fall back over his head.

"Hey, you're Soul right? Heard you're a pretty cool guy..." the boy said, outstretching his hand towards Soul as a strand of black hair fell into his eyes, "Akane- I just transferred over here with Tsugumi."

Soul shook his hand and chuckled. "I don't understand what all the buzz is about me to the transfers, doubt I can be that cool."

"Nah, we're just trying to find some people to chill with, not used to not being in the in-crowd," Akane laughed.  
"You wanna come blow this place off and chill in central with us and a few bros?" he asked, pointing with his thumb towards central park below.

"Well, I don't know if I'd necessarily call myself the in-crowd," Soul said, thinking back to the eyes when he sat at lunch with Liz and Kid while they were dating and the rest of the kids that shoved Freshmen into lockers and made faculty members scream in horror.  
"And I can't blow off my girl- I don't think she'd be down to hang with people she doesn't really know."

"Well you're not with her now," Tsugumi said with a smirk, "She won't notice if you come smoke a few for, like, thirty minutes. You could make some new buds."

Soul turned the thought over in his mind and shrugged.  
He sighed with a small side smile.  
"Alright."

* * *

 _Maka_

It was that same, all too familiar sinking feeling in her chest, weighing her down into a state of mind that seemed to disconnect her from reality. She couldn't tell if the feeling itself or the idea of the feeling returning after all this time was what worried her the most.  
She thought it had been something she grew out of.  
Something she thought she had already conquered and moved on again.  
But as she stood there among the flashing lights and sloshing red cups of booze it bubbled back up and down inside of her.

"Maka?" Kid said, suddenly appearing in front of her from the crowd where she lost Soul and Jackie not too long ago.  
He held a plastic cup in his hand with his pale cheeks slightly flushed from drinking. He wore a jean jacket with the collar popped up and a pair of capri joggers.  
It always took Maka aback to see him like this, to see the headmaster's son in casual clothes with a drink in his hand.  
Something about it though made him seem a little more approachable.

"Oh hey, Kid," Maka said, forcing a smile on her face to only raise Kid's suspicions that something wasn't quite right.  
He turned and scanned the crowd, his yellow eyes reflecting the bright lights and making them appear as if they were glowing.

"C'mon," Kid said, taking her by the wrist and leading her through the sweaty crowd to a glass sliding door leading out onto one of the many balconies, this one overlooking the train station and a portion of Death City's shopping district with Shibusen visible on the horizon line, towering over on the large hill it resides on.

"Alright, talk to me, Albarn," Kid said as he slid the door shut, leaving them alone in the spring night chill and muffling the blasting music from within.

Maka plopped down on a stone bench, the only piece of furniture bar an aloe vera plant in the far left corner.  
"I-I don't know," she sighed, placing her drink on the floor and criss crossing her legs despite wearing a dress. "It's just dumb and crazy," she said, taking a shaky breath and running a hand through her hair.

"Who were they?" Kid said, suddenly on edge seeing her like this. He leaned against the cool glass of the sliding door with concern in his eyes, taking a swig of his drink, "The kids in the hall."

Maka shook her head, looking off through the metal rails enclosing the patio to the assorted colored cars zooming through the streets below her. She hesitated for a moment.  
"Can I tell you a story?"

* * *

 _Soul_

It had been a hot minute since Soul smoked like this, definitely before he and Maka officially got together last spring.  
They sat under the darkness of a patch of trees near the edges of central park with their backs resting on the tall brick wall that fenced the area in. With Soul, Akane, and Tsugumi sat another group of three familiar teenagers, one with a backpack filled with a variety of substances that could probably give him quite a few years behind bars.

"So, sorry I broke your nose that one time," the guy, Free, said to him, the two girls, Eruka and Mizune, sitting on each side of him, giggling at every word he said even if it wasn't even remotely meant to be funny.  
Soul smirked at this and waved it off with a laugh.  
That moment felt like ages ago, before he and Maka were even a thing and Kid was on the brink of death.  
More stories and echanges followed, laughter filtered in and out of Soul's ears in between inhalations of smoke and eventually the world around him began to move in slow motion.

"I don't know how you handle her, man, she must've changed big time," Akane said to him, taking a puff as Soul shot him a confused glance, his eyes bloodshot.  
"My girl back home Anya was a friend of hers, and she showed up at her party and got all drunk and tried to fuck me," he laughed, "I mean what the hell, to try and get with your friend's boyfriend? That's low."

Soul furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, idly watching the golden, burning ashes flutter away in the breeze that increasingly got chillier.  
"She's never told me anything like that," Soul muttered, "You sure we're talking about the same girl?"

Akane chuckled with a nod. "Long legs with long blonde hair? She chopped it all of right after middle school ended, it looks nicer long."

"Well, no, I've never seen that side of her, or heard anything like that about her," Soul muttered with a shrug.  
"Weird."

* * *

 _Kid_

She huddled in the passenger seat of his black Jeep wrangler with his jean jacket around her shoulders, the warmth of the sun replaced with a chilly night breeze blowing through the darkness.  
"He probably got too drunk with Kim or something," Maka murmured, her thumb scrolling idly on her phone.  
 _No new messages._

"I thought he was done with the heavy drinking," Kid said as he made a left turn, the intervals of street lights illuminating the inside of the car with a soft yellow glow.

Maka shrugged, shifting uncomfortably in her dress as she slipped her heels off.  
"Thanks for listening to me tonight, by the way," she whispered after a brief period of time, her words barely audible over the soft flow of music from a mix-tape Soul made for Kid as a Christmas gift last winter.

"Anytime, Maka," Kid said, glancing over at her and flashing her a quick soft smile. "Are you sure you're going to be alright? I mean, I know it's going to be okay, but if it ever becomes too much-"

"I'm alright," Maka giggled, leaning back into the soft leather of the seat that smelled faintly like cigarette smoke.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Kid said as the car slowed to a stop sign at the end of a dark side street where basketballs and abandoned bicycles laid askew in the front yards. "And I don't mean to sound like I'm, I don't know, pitying you. But really, it's disgusting, and I'd do anything in a heart beat to take those memories all away from you."

A million things to say back flooded Maka's mind as a faint smile spread on her cheeks. She looked over at him as he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, waiting impatiently for a stray purple-black cat to cross the road.  
"Thanks, Kid. It means a lot."

* * *

 _Soul_

Soul slipped through the unalarmed fire exit door, being sure to let it close softly enough for it not to make any noise and alert whoever was taking over Stein's place maintaining the boy's dorm. He walked through the halls with reality feeling amplified and toned down all at the same time.  
The sound of snoring and laughter and video game music blurred into one big mass of noise and pounded against his skull.

He turned the corner that lead the doorway into his bedroom where Black-Star was either dead asleep in bed or typing away at his computer with the clicking sounds and hum of the hard drive that often lulled him to sleep.  
Standing outside his door he could make out a female figure and the closer he walked the more fucked up he believed he could be.

"Can I help you?" Soul said, his speech slowed.  
The girl looked up and all the breath was sucked out of him.  
Deep purple hair fell in waves around her shoulders and her impossibly light brown eyes were illuminated in the dim hallway lighting.

"Soul?" she whispered to him, a tight smile causing dimples to form on her cheeks.

Soul blinked a few times and nearly fell over, needing to lean on the wall to maintain his balance. A few hot tears spilled from his eyes and down his cheeks.  
He could barely find the words.  
" _Ren?"_

* * *

 _Somewhere on campus..._

Azusa neatly aligned the stack of documents with a firm tap on her desk, the clock on the wall nearly striking two in the morning. It was another long night of filing papers for the incoming class and outgoing seniors.

"You still here, Azusa?" Mosquito said to her, passing by her open office door within the main Shibusen building, the light of her room spilling into the dark hallway and illuminating the small, stout man.

"Ah, another one of those nights," she laughed airly, her strict teacher demeanor let down to a more loose and easy-going personality, "There's just been a lot on my mind, I assume."

"A lot on your mind?" Mosquito asked, his deep red eyes peering out from underneath the rim of his hat.

"What are you doing wandering Shibusen this late at night- shouldn't you be patrolling the boy's dorm?" Azusa said, raising her eyebrow at him, "I couldn't imagine how many students would be trying to sneak in and out on a Friday night…"

Mosquito nodded before quickly walking away, the heels of his dress shoes clicking against the tiled floor.  
"On my way!" he called out, leaving Azusa alone as she let out a sigh and clicked off her desk lamp, leaving the glow of her computer screen the only source of light within the room.

She tapped her long, pointed nails against the wooden surface of her desk, the monitor causing a nearly blinding glare on her glasses. With an impulse, she involuntarily pulled up old school files and began scrolling through the endless portfolios.  
With a click, a yearbook picture of a young girl with a blonde bob and baby blue eyes appeared across the screen.  
Azusa clicked her tongue.  
" _Patricia Thompson."_

 _To be continued..._

* * *

A/N: I think I know where I'm going with this? Hope you guys enjoyed and hey, please leave some reviews and let me know what you think! (-:


	3. Chapter 3: Ashes and Kept Promises

Why is Chicago weather so funky?

Part 2: Chapter 2

* * *

 _Maka_

Pale, early afternoon sunlight filtered in through the treetops with a warm breeze blowing in, shaking off pale pink blossoms that fluttered to the forest ground. Maka slid the Nike pullover she stole from my Soul a while back off her shoulders, revealing her bare shoulders and the white tank top she fell asleep in.

Kid flicked a few ashes from the end of his lit cigarette, a habit Maka thought he got over not too long ago. His yellow eyes followed the silver flakes as they swirled in the wind.  
"Has Soul texted you back yet?" he said, shifting his stare over to her as sat down opposite to her in the forest clearing.

Maka shook her head as she picked at the wildflowers growing around them, stretching up for the miniscule amount of light shining in. "It's not a big deal, he likes to sleep on Sundays," she said, "He probably has another bad hangover."

"I thought he gave up the heavy drinking," Kid said before taking another puff.

"I thought you gave up on the smoking," Maka said back, offering up a tight smile before her gaze settled back on the multitude of flowers scattered around her.

"It's been rough lately," Kid said after a long moment, staring off into the darkness within the clusters of budding trees and greenery. He chuckled sourly, causing a few strands of his black hair to fall into his eyes. "Do you ever feel like you're lying to yourself? Like, about whether everything is okay or not, just to get by?" He shrugged. "I've been feeling that way a lot lately."

Maka chewed the inside of her mouth.  
 _Her father. The distance between her and her mother. Tsugumi and Akane._  
Was she really getting any farther in improving her situations? She still hasn't reached out to her father since Christmas, and on the rare occasions when she's with her mother they both move around one another as if the other is invisible. And even when Tsugumi or Akane aren't around, the anxiety they'll show up or that she'll see them in the halls or that something awful will happen is always eating her away in the back of her head. It all is.  
"I know exactly how you're feeling," she whispered back, her voice as light as the soft peachy pink petals that were sprinkled around her.  
Kid nodded and met her eyes; he understood. It was nice to have people like that around you, to be so close to someone they instantly understood how you were feeling without another word. And Maka thought she understood him too.  
"How are things at home with your dad?" she asked.

Kid laughed and shook his head, smashing out the dying embers of his cigarette butt before pulling out and lighting another one.  
"I stopped taking my medication," he said bluntly, taking a long drag from his fresh cigarette, "I know it's awful and wrong, but I don't think it did much to begin with. Like, everything was still real and there, but it kept me in this weird limbo of barely being able to make it by even though I was still dying on the inside.  
I can't exactly explain it, but with our without life is shitty, and I guess I'd rather genuinely face what my feelings are."

"What's going on Kid?" Maka asked, her voice so quiet that the gentle breeze nearly made her inaudible.

"Asura, Medusa, Liz…" Kid said, his expression hardening and his gaze unfocusing. "Th-There's just a lot of shit going on and it's frustrating my dad and when my dad gets frustrated he explodes, and…well, fuck, I can't wait until I'm eighteen."

"Hey, you can always talk if you need it-" Maka began before the sound of laughter and snapping branches sounded through mass of trunks and maturing leaves.  
Maka's eyes snapped up, expecting to see Soul stumbling over with Hiro or Kim, dark circles ringed around their bottom lid, cackling away about the night with a stash of hangover food in hand.

"Thought we'd find some other kids hanging around here," Tsugumi's voice said, a slight grin on her face with an icy stare glaring down at Maka.  
Akane hung close behind her, a five o'clock shadow making him appear at least ten years older as he stood half draped in the shade with his arms crossed over his chest.

"We saw you guys hop the fence," Akane smirked, giving Tsugumi a playful shove. He nonchalantly walked over to Kid, sliding one of his hands in his back pocket. He gave him a quick smile and nod before punching Kid directly across the face, sending him flying backwards at the log he sat.

"What the actual fuck!?" Kid screamed out, jumping back up on his feet while Maka sat petrified.  
"I'll have you know I can get your ass shipped out of this school," Kid threatened, "I can completely blow up your school record and make sure you won't be going anywhere far except the McDonald's on the street corner."

"You're cute," Tsugumi said, pushing Akane aside and standing directly in front of Kid with only the rotting log creating space between them.

"What the fuck do you guys want?" Kid spat, his ears burning red from anger with a deep pink flushing his pale cheeks.

"Alright big guy, I'm going to make this clear," she said too sweetly, her stare practically deadly. "I know you're the bigshot here- Headmaster's son, rich, spoiled, and all that fucking shit. And to be really honest, I hope to Jesus Christ you get us shipped the hell out of this school because I don't think I've ever hated a place so much in my whole entire laugh, and that's saying a lot."  
She glanced up briefly at Akane and nodded before focusing her view once again on Kid's eyes.  
"We need cash, quite a bit, let's say we're in a bit of a tight spot and owe some money-"

"There's nothing in this whole fucking world that would make me give you even a penny, hell, I wouldn't save your life for one corn chip," Kid laughed, shaking his head. "You guys are fucking diluted."

Tsugumi's arm shot up, her phone screen glowing in Kid's face. Her thumb scrolled a series of pictures and the blood seemingly drained from Kid's face, the deep pink returning to his paper white skin.  
" _Everywhere",_ she mouthed to him.

"How much do you guys want?" Kid said, a cold sweat breaking out on his face as a bead of sweat dripped down his cheek along the smear of blood.

"Kid, what did she just show you?!" Maka said firmly, finally finding her voice as she rose to her feet.  
Tsugumi smiled as Kid turned to her, his expression helpless, the memory of all the nights he came to her dorm breaking down mentally stabbing her in the chest.  
"Kid?" she said again, her stance breaking down when Akane suddenly gripped Tsugumi's shoulder's and jerked her backwards.

Maka and Kid both turned backwards, their faces gradually filling with fear as if time was moving in slow motion. The large tree stretching up behind the group rose up in flames as the embers of Kid's cigarette ate up the white wildflowers and threatened to burn down the trunks and branches of more trees.  
Kid looked down at Maka as if he was ready to lunge at her when the tree collapsed over in between them, bursting into flames and filling the small opening with thick black smoke as deafening noise of birds screeching and flames flickering sounding.

" _Maka, run!"_

* * *

 _Soul_

 _What the hell happened last night?_  
The mattress he was lying on was equally uncomfortable and lumpy than the one he was used to, but something about it was off. Maybe it was because the blanket smelled more like detergent than sweaty gym socks, but maybe Maka washed it for him as a surprise like she did sometimes when she got fed up with him skipping laundry day.  
He cracked his eyes open and shockingly blinding sunlight within the rooms made his head throb as he squeezed his eyes back shut.  
He knew he definitely drank last night, but something about the way he felt was a million times worth than he remembered when he drank heavily like before. It was okay though, he told himself, every once in a while there's no harm in pushing the limits. Gives you some good stories to tell right?  
I guess not so much when you can't even remember where you where or who you were with or what you did.  
He forced his eyes up and shielded his eyes with the pillow he slept on when he felt arms wrap around his face and someone snuggle up in between his shoulder blades.  
He grinned.  
"Wanna head to Joe's coffee shop?"

"What's Joe's coffee shop?" a voice said back, not sounding like Maka at all as Soul bolted upright.  
"You alright?" Ren said to him, a half smile on her face with one dimple curling around her right cheek. "I don't know what the hell you laced whatever you smoked last night, but the sheets still reek of it."

"Am I dead?" Soul said, his eyes wide as he jumped out of bed, standing in the center of an unrented dorm room in nothing but his boxers.  
The sudden memory of Ren standing in the hallway flashed through his mind, her glowing eyes and perfect teeth glinting in the dim hallway lighting.  
"Ren…" he said, plopping back down on the mattress with his eyes trained on hers.

She laughed.  
"Don't do this all over again," she laughed, sitting upright as the sheet slid off her shoulders, revealing the constellation of moles and freckles dotting her shoulders and upper back. "If I have to have you sob and snot all over my hair again I might lose my shit."

"How are you here?" he said, running his thumb down her cheek as if to double check she was really sitting there in front of him alive. "Are you sure I'm not dead?"

"No, you're very much alive," she giggled, the sound making tears well back up in Soul's eyes.  
"Well, long story short, Justin found out I was pregnant and shit got ugly. Blair told everyone I commited suicide and pretended to move away out of grief, but really we needed a way out."  
Her fingers intertwined with his. "I'm sorry," she said, "But there was no safe way I could tell you I was alive, or really anyway for me to get into contact with you. Sis would kill me if she knew I was here with you right now, but it's whatever.  
We're here together now."

"The baby?" Soul muttured, "That wasn't a lie?"

"No, definitely not," Ren chuckled, "That was my first reason for needing to leave, other than just wanting to get away from that scumbag.  
She squeezed his hand and shrugged. "He was stillborn."

"I'm sorry," Soul said, squeezing her hand back as tears began to fill her eyes now.

"It's okay, maybe a message from above that I'm not ready to be a mom which I'm really not," she said, "I mean, I can barely cook Kraft Mac and Cheese without making some sort of mess."  
"But hey, we're finally here, I guess," she said, looking him deeper in the eyes, "We can run away from all this upper class shit like you wanted and watch the stars together and play music and just, wish on airplanes as we kick life's ass."

Soul's smile faded as quickly as it came.  
"I, I have a girlfriend," he said, barely able to make the words come out as Maka's image formed in his head.  
What did he and Ren do last night? Did anyone see him and Ren bust into this room? Maka would totally bust his face in if she found out, and hell he knew he deserved this. But this wasn't any girl. This was her, this was Ren.

"Oh, I have a guy back home too," Ren said nonchalantly, unlocking their hands before she slid off the bed, picking up Soul's Shibusen logo-ed sweatershirt of the floor and pulling it over her bare body, the bottom hem just hitting her mid-thigh.  
"He was pretty chill and played guitar, not as good as you of course. I feel a lil bad about breaking his heart, but it wasn't anything serious. Relationships like that come and go, I guess, until you find your mister right."

Soul remained silent as he watched Ren stand in front of the mirror, the sunlight illuminating her as her fingers worked her deep strands of hair into a messy side braid. Her eyes fluttered upwards as she braided.  
He felt she was beautiful.

"Soul…" Ren hummed as he slid back on his jeans, debating if he really needed a shower or if he could sneak back to bed in his dorm and hold it off until later.

"Yeah?" he muttered, coming up behind her.  
"What is it?" he said, following her stare out the window at the clouds of black smoke billowing above the treetops.

* * *

 _Kid_

The feeling was too familiar and caused it all to bubble up in his chest. If he had any food in his system he'd probably would throw it all up right about now, but instead he's left with the cold sweats and sinking feeling in his gut.  
The sound of shuffling feet and muffled voices sounded nearby him along with the beeping of the monitors and the repeating in and out of the breathing machine.

"Is she okay?" he murmured, slipping his breathing mask off as he forced his eyes opening, every ounce of movement sending pain throughout his body.  
 _Just like before. Just like before. Just like before._

"She's fine, honey," a nurse said to him, as she attempted to slip the mask on him, "Everyone's okay."

"Surprisingly," the doctor beside her said, filling something out on a clipboard, "You've got pretty good friends if they'd be willing to drag you out of a blazing forest fire."

"I don't need the damn mask," Kid wheezed, taking a few raspy breaths.

The nurse eventually gave up and muttered something about grabbing him water before she marched off, the doctor continuity scribbling away at pages of paper while he followed her out.  
"Very, very lucky…" he resounded before the door clicked shut behind him.

Kid sighed and sank backwards into the fluffy pillows, focusing on breathing even though he probably breathed in a widely unhealthy amount of smoke minus the smoking and was also on the near verge of an anxiety attack.  
Maka didn't drag him out.  
She couldn't have.  
There was no way she could have been able to reach him. Tsugumi and Akane sure as hell wouldn't have, unless they came back for him to make sure he wouldn't die before he forked over a nice lump of cash.  
What assholes.

The door clicked open.  
" _You feeling alright?"_

"Thank fucking goodness you're alright," Kid sighed, his breathing labored. "I wanted to get you-"

"Don't worry about it," Maka smiled, sitting on the edge of his hospital bed. A plastic hospital band wrung around her wrist.  
"Shouldn't you have your breathing mask on? It still sounds like you're choking-"

"No, no," he said, running an unsteady hand through his tangled mop of black hair, "I-I think I'm going to have an anxiety attack.  
I think I am having an anxiety attack."

"Are you sure? Do you know why?" Maka asked, gripping his wrist.  
"Do you need me to grab the nurse?"

"No, I just don't want to be here," Kid said shakily, trying to pluck off the medical tubes attached to him with his free hand. "I don't know, just being back in the hospital like this brings back a lot of bad shit."  
He shook his head and sank back into his pillow, his head reeling from too much moving around.  
"Do you think I'm going backwards, Maka?"

"What do you mean?" Maka whispered back, nearly positive she knew what he meant from the way his breathing increased and the way his hand tremored.

"What if I end up back here again, in this fucking hospital bed with some doctor scribbling diagrams of all the places I've beat myself up. I've already started- going off my meds and the smoking and the damn feelings and thoughts in my head at night," Kid shrugged. "I don't think all the bad ever went away, but I bottled it up and it's all gonna come back out eventually. I don't know if I can go through all that again, Maka."

"It's going to be okay, Kid," Maka said gently, "You're not alone and you and I both know you're a stronger person then you were before. Everything's going to turn out just fine," she repeated, releasing his wrist and reaching up to wipe away a stray tear that ran down his face.

"Don't."  
Kid swatted her head away. "I don't want you to see me cry, I'm just overwhelmed, I guess."

Maka shrank her head away and parted her lips to speak when the door clicked back open, the nurse walking in with a plastic cup of room temperature water and a granola bar.  
"Maka, back to your room now, young lady," the nurse said, clicking her tongue as she sat the cup and granola bar on Kid's nightstand.

"They said we should be out in the next few hours so see you then," Maka said with a tight smile before she slid off the bed heading off into the hall with the nurse following behind her, turning around to check on Kid once more before closing the door.

Kid scoffed and flipped over, burying his face in the pillow and judging whether or not the fabric and closed door would be enough to muffle a scream.  
There was too much going on, and he knew so much of it was his fault and the reason why his dad couldn't get enough sleep and the reason why people got headaches worrying over him and why the did he have to hit Maka's hand like that? Why did he have to tell her he was having a panic attack and stress her out like that? He should've just told her his side was hurting.  
He rolled on his side, the hands on the clock above the open glass window looking into the sterile white hallway shifted completely. How long had he been lying there?  
A flash of dark brown hair passed by the window, the fluorescent hospital lights illuminating her cold eyes and smile. She paused for a moment.  
" _Everywhere"_ she mouthed again, sending his stomach twisting and turning once again as he hopped up and burst into the bathroom.

* * *

 _Soul_

"Now you're the one who I can't get rid of, huh?" the nurse behind the front desk laughed, the same lady who had begged Soul to drag Maka out of the ER waiting room after Kid's incident last year.  
Soul couldn't bring himself to answer, the only thing willing him to go outside being the 'No Smoking Indoors' sign mounted on the wall opposite to him.  
He picked the frayed edge of the fabric chair he sat at while the water cooler next to his seat bubbled.

" _She's fine, they're all fine."  
_ Soul's gaze snapped from staring down at his sneakers to Spirit standing above him, his janitor closed replaced with a suit and an oddly shaped cross tie.

"Mr. Albarn," Soul mustered up as Spirit sat down in the chair in front of him, his shaggy red hair nearly masking his eyes.

"Don't feel like you have to call me that, Mr. Evans," Spirit teased, a slight smile cracking on his face.  
He folded his hands in his laps and leaned forward on his seat. "So, you're Maka's, uh, boyfriend."

A sick feeling rose up in Soul's throat.  
"Yeah," he stuttered, "I am. Look sir-"

"No, no, don't worry with all that bull crap," Spirit chuckled back. "I don't exactly have the right to come grill you about how my girl's not allowed to date until she's married- I mean, I'm her father, but I really haven't been that to her.  
But anyways, I'm asking you this, kid. I let my Maka grow up without a good man in her life, even when I was there and even if I stayed there I'm not the kind of man I'd want my daughter to idolize. I don't know anything about her love life or past relationships, but I never want her to have to experience being in a relationship where whoever she's with doesn't love her back. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Soul said back.

"Good," Spirit said, completely ignoring the no smoking indoors sign and lighting one, "If you're going to be with my daughter, I want you to make sure you're truly in love with her. I don't want you to trick her into thinking you're something that you're not. So, for the love of God, treat her right or get the hell out of her life.  
You promise me?"

Soul nodded firmly.  
"I promise."

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to either put out your cigarette or take it outside," the nurse said behind the station, smelling the nicotine fumes rising in the air.  
"No smoking indoors, it's a fire hazard."

Spirit rose and took another puff.  
"I'll see you around, Mr. Evans."

* * *

 _Kid_

" _Your ride should be here in a few minutes."_

Kid stood in the main entrance of the hospital, a variety of people and medical personnel swinging in and out of the revolving doors. He leaned against the wall to steady himself, wondering if the smoke inhalation or lack of food was making him dizzy. Maybe he could order a pizza when he got home.

"Hey, you're all good, Kid?" a voice said, breaking his train of thought of going home, eating, and locking himself up in his room for a nap.

"Oh, Crona, what are you doing here?" Kid asked, noticing the plastic hospital band wrapped around his wrist.

Crona shrugged, a small awkward smile on his face.  
"I-I saw the cigarette start the fire."

"Wait, you were there in the woods? How'd you...what were you doing out there?" Kid asked, furrowing his brows in confusion.

"You and your friends aren't the only people that jump the brick wall and wander the woods, I couldn't tell you all the places kids hike out to in there," Crona shrugged with a laugh. "It's nice out there, quiet and away from it all I guess. I hang out there sometimes when the girl's dorm gets a little too hectic."

Kid nodded, a few moments of silence passing as he watched the traffic fly through the streets while a few small drops of rain began to run down the large smooth glass windows.  
"You pulled me out of the fire," he said, not looking back over.

"Yeah, I did," Crona said, rocking back and forth on his heels, "I mean, I had to- I saw you fall over, and I couldn't just leave you there. How could I?"

"Thanks, I think I might literally owe you my life," Kid smiled as the smooth black metal of his black limo caught his eye, his chauffeur pulling up in front of the main doors.  
Kid finally looked back and shrugged.  
"You like pizza?"

* * *

 _Soul_

"Hey, hey, don't worry," Maka whispered, "I'm fine."  
Her arms wound around Soul's neck as she pulled back a bit, unburying her head from under his jaw to look him in the eye. "I promise."

"When I heard they saw them bring you out on a stretcher into the ambulance," Soul said, shaking his head as he pulled back, "I thought I lost you."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere," Maka giggled, her laughter filling the empty courtyard of the girl's dorm; the usual constant chatter and noise among the school's lot silenced to just the ambience of the light spring drizzle.  
"Do you want to head inside and watch a movie or something? Tsubaki's out to one of Black-Star's meets."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Soul whispered while Maka began leading him to the dorm's entrance, her cold hands interlocking with his.

"Hey, c'mon, you know Stein's away so it's not like he's gonna notice you're missing-"

"I need to listen to me for a minute, Maka," Soul said with his tone suddenly firm, standing firmly and gripping her hand so she couldn't drag him any farther.

Maka stiffened and turned back to look at him.  
"Yeah, of course, Soul. Anything."

"I made a promise to your dad today, about being the man he's always wanted you to look up to and being in a relationship that was really worth something where you were with someone that truly loved you," Soul said, his words coming out more soundly and coherent than he thought they would, "And, I don't think I've been that for you lately."

"Soul, what are you saying?" Maka asked, her grip slightly loosening on his hand.

"Ren isn't dead."  
The words almost didn't feel true coming out of his mouth.  
"And she's here on campus. I mean, not attending Shibusen, but she's here, Maka. And I had too much to drink and I did shit I probably shouldn't have done as your boyfriend."

"Soul…" Maka said, tears welling in her eyes as the words coming out of his mouth didn't feel true to him either.  
She let go and threw her arms around his neck again, re-burying her face in his neck.  
"It's- it's okay," she murmured, "Shit happens sometimes, you know?"

Soul pulled her away, lightly gripping her shoulders.  
"Maka, it's not okay. I cheated on you and ditched you at a party to get drunk and then had sex with another girl because I was drunk and I've had all this shit bottled up inside me for so long because I thought things were over but apparently they're not over at all because, well, shit happens."

"But it's different, Soul," Maka pleaded back, shaking his grip from her.  
"Because you're not like my dad because you love me, Soul."  
Soul shook his head.  
"You love me, right?" she whispered, the falling raindrops dropping down steadier as the seconds ticked by mixing in with the tears beginning to run down her cheeks.  
"Soul, right?"

"Maka…" Soul began,  
"We're over."

 _To be continued…_

* * *

I've written the word choke too many times. I usually write these pretty late at night so here's my sleep deprived writing, you guys, feel free to leave me a review to know how you feel about this shitstorm

Xoxo sarcastic eggplant


	4. Chapter 4: Know Love

Chapter 3  
Know Love  
Part 1

* * *

The cafeteria was definitely one of the worst places to be in the entire world. The room's air was barely breathable from the Nevada heat and the overbearing scent of grease and sweat. Also, was someone going to tell the eigth grade boys that Axe body spray didn't equal a shower after gym class?  
But it's fine, just move quickly and don't draw attention to yourself.  
That's what mom would always tell him on those days when he'd come home with his nose bleeding from getting nailed in the face or with a kick-me sign on his back, that if he just acted normally in public and didn't get too close to anyone, he couldn't get hurt.

His mom also told him not to wear that shirt.  
It was lilac, his favorite color in the world. Purple like the tips of the sky during sunset except more subdued, and the same color of the little flowers that grew near the train tracks in the abandonded part of the city.  
She told him it was a girl color.  
And that it wasn't normal that he wore a girl color and that he'd draw attention to himself and that kids would beat him up and write nasty things about him on the bathroom walls.

Or maybe stick their feet out from underneath the lunch table, tripping him face forward onto the ground in the middle of the aisle.  
"My bad," the girl giggled, looking down at him as her lunch table erupted into laughter.  
She was the girl who won first place in the school's art show last fall and looked almost exactly like a cabbage patch doll with her short blonde bob and impossibly blue eyes.  
He thought she was nice.

The world then blurred around him from the tears that threatened to spill as the laughter grew to the few surrondings tables and then what eventually sounded like the entire school population. The moment may have only lasted a few moments, but the time it took him to sprint from the cabbage patch girl to the exit felt like an eternity as the sounds in the room swirled into one huge commotion.

Soon the grim cafeteria lighted with harsh flourescent lights disappeared and he stood in the golden afternoon sun with a cool breeze blowing through the greenery around him.  
He plopped down on a bench on the side of the tree-lined, cement pathway connecting the school building to the soccer fields a few yards away.

" _Is that blood?"_

"Huh?" Crona said, looking up and noticing a boy about his age sitting under one of the trees that towered over the west side of the school building on the opposite side of the walkway.  
His eyes were as yellow as the sun.

"If not, then what is it? It looks like a mess, don't you keep an extra shirt in your locker?" the kid asked, an open book sitting idly in his lap.  
His brows furrowed. "Why are you crying?"

"I don't have an extra shirt," Crona whispered, ignoring the other two questions. His cheeks burned almost as red as the stains on his shirt as he wiped at the wetness from his eyes.  
The kid stood up and walked over to him, setting the book face up on the small quilt he had been sitting on while the pages began to turn in the breeze.

Crona tensed, hoping he wasn't planning on knocking him across the face, but instead he sat down next to him and pulled out a tissue from the small pocket on his polo.  
"I'm Kid," he said, holding out the tissue for Crona to take.  
"Your name?"

"Crona," he whispered.

"Crona," Kid said, "Never heard that one before."  
He shrugged with a small smile.  
"C'mon, I've got a spare shirt in my gym locker."

* * *

"You don't have to let me borrow your shirt," Crona said as he walked with Kid down the basement corridor to the locker room, flooded in harsh white light while the heavy scent of floor cleaner wafted in the stuffy air.  
"Really, I can just wear my P.E. shirt or, I don't know, improvise."

"Improvise with what?" Kid laughed, walking a few feet ahead of him with his hands tucked into the pockets of a darkwash jean jacket he pulled out of his book bag.  
"Like duct tape yourself a new shirt or make pasties out of construction paper?"

Crona made a face as they stepped into the musty locker, the dim motion-activated lights flickering on as soon as they pushed through the door.  
"What are pasties?"

Kid laughed again and shook his head.  
"I know I don't have to lend you my shirt, but to be real, the idea of someone having to walk around covered in tomato sauce makes me wanna scream. It'd probably be all sticky and get everywhere and then there'd be tomato sauce everywhere..."

"I mean, I kinda like the smell of tomato sauce," Crona shrugged as Kid began to fiddle with the lock as the bell rang, shattering the quiet hum of the dial clicking and the hum of the school's generator.  
"The kids that have P.E. next period are going to be coming down here..." he stuttured.

"And?" Kid said as he tossed a polo shirt to Crona without looking back at him before slamming his locker shut.

"They can be assholes," Crona muttured as he pulled his lilac t-shirt off, exposing his bare chest.

"Where'd you get all those bruises?" Kid said in a low tone, eyeing the splotches of fading purple marks standing out against his pale skin starting from his collarbone down to the waistband of his Levi's.  
Crona shrugged, thinking it was better if Kid didn't know about all the times he got kicked in the gut in the bathrooms or hit with rocks while walking home.  
I mean he barely knew the guy.

"Hold on, you smeared some sauce on your face," Kid said, taking the stained T-shirt before Crona could slip on the polo and holding it up to his cheek right as the locker rooms door flung open.

"Would you take a look at these two," one of the kids said to his friends, both of them standing at least a foot taller than Kid and Crona.  
"You two pretty boys having a makeout session?"

Kid furrowed his brows.  
"What makes you think we were making out?"

"T-There's nothing going on, I swear," Crona choked out, suprised he spoke at all as he stood nearly frozen in fear with nothing but his jeans and sneakers on.  
"I just needed to borrow shirt."

One of the boys walked over to them two, a sly smile on his face before he slammed Kid against the locker, his back hitting the flimsy metal with a sound bang.

"Hey, James, cut it out!" one of the kid's from the group said, his blue hair spiked up in a billion different directions.

"Fucking gross," James growled at Kid, still mainting his icy smile, "What a couple of fa-"

" _What's going on in here?"_

Everyone's attention snapped up as Coach Sid walked slammed through the door, his eyes confused until he narrowing them at Kid, Crona, and James.  
"Black-Star," Sid said to the blue-haired kid, "Was something happening here?"

Black-Star shifted his gaze from Sid to the three of them and then back again at Sid.  
He shook his head. "No, sir. Nothing's going on."

Sid sighed.  
"Alright, then you all better get dressed before I mark you all tardy," he began, causing the group to disband as everyone shuffled over to the lockers followed by the sounds of lock clicking and faint chatter.  
James scoffed before walking off, giving Kid and Crona one last hard glare before disappearing into the students.

Crona finally slide the polo over his head, fixing the collar as he and Kid stood in silence among the other kids.  
"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Kid smiled and handed him the stained T-shirt.  
"Don't be," he chuckled, "I guess you were right, they can be assholes."

* * *

The green leaves on the large oak tree finally turned and now laid scattered on the ground in different hues of scarlett and orange. A cool breeze shook the bare branches and sent the leaves swirling around the yellowing grass and asphalt.

"The book's in Spanish," Crona said, pointing the words in Kid's novel as they sat under one of the many naked trees surronding the school's cafeteria hall where kids crowded indoors. "I didn't know you spoke another language."

"You mean you don't already know a second language?" Kid said, looking a little shocked as he looked up from his book, "I finished Spanish lessons last summer and now I meet with a French teacher every week, I should be done by next year…"

"That's insane," Crona laughed, messing with a loose string from the quilt they both sat on, "I can't even keep a decent grade in English class…"

"Seriously?" Kid said suprised, "English has to be easiest required class, I mean, all you have to do is read and write about you read."

"See that's the thing, I love to read and write, but I love to read and write my own thing," Crona shrugged, "I don't wanna read some book about two lovers from a million years ago and then write a paper on it- I wanna read new things and write new things, my own things."  
"Does that make any sense?"

"Yeah, it does, a lot actually," Kid said, "I'm kind of bad at stuff like that, making up my own stuff. Like art and literature, I could never make my own."

"Why not?" Crona giggled, "You just take what's on your mind and make it, well, not on your mind, I guess."

"I'm sure it takes a lot," Kid sighed, "Well, one day when you put what's on your mind somewhere that isn't on your mind, I'll be sure to check it out."

Crona smiled and nodded.  
"Of course."

* * *

The midnight blue stretched from all areas on the horizon, and the usual silence of night was replaced with muffled music and shouts from the many houses around hosting New Year's Eve parties.

"I can't believe the year is already over," Kid murmured, looking down at the snow below glittering in the moonlight as he and Crona sat on top of an abandonded storehouse overlooking the traintracks, surronded by an assortment of rundown apartments and housing complexes.

Crona nodded. "I know, I can't believe next year is going to be my last year in middle school...It's weird how seventh grade is already half way over as it is."  
"It's been fun though, really, I think this school year has honestly been the best so far. It sounds lame, but I've never really had a friend like you before, and it feels really nice."

"It's not lame," Kid smiled, "I've never really had a friend like you either. I feel like most kids stay away from me because I can be weird or I freak out a lot or they're scared if they do somethig wrong my father will come after them. I feel like you're really you around me, and I feel like I can really be me around you."

"Hey, you're not weird, I mean, I guess we're all weird, but I like you," Crona said, looking down at Kid's watch that had the numbers 11:59 glowing neon green.

"Well, I like you, too, Crona," Kid said with a small smile, a chilly breeze blowing through and causing his hair to ruffle up. "I like you a lot."

Before Crona could get any words out, their lips pressed together as fireworks suddenly lit up the sky, washing them and the roof in a variety of colors while cheers sounded from below.

 _To be continued..._

* * *

A/N~ Wow I think this might be one of the shortest chapter I've written? But I feel like if I didn't split it it'd be a lil too much at once. Anyway, I totally don't but totally do know where I'm going with this so I hope you guys enjoy? I'm going to be writing the next few chapters before I post part two of this so have fun hanging on edge xoxo - sarcasticeggplant  
P.S. Uh in the original story I gotta switch it to make everyone the same age because I think Kid was a junior while Crona was a freshman? Let's pretend that never happened .


	5. Chapter 5: Sunshine and Fruit Punch

Chapter Four

Maka

The dorm hallways buzzed with gentle chatter, small cliques of girls passed by with quiet laughter. The ceiling tall windows that had poured in the early sun that morning now had streaks of silver rain running down the glass in little streams.  
Everything in the world seemed the same, a few minutes ago everything felt the same, as well. It's weird, how that when it feels as if the earth collapsed underneath your feet, it continues to spin for everyone else.

"Hey, you feeling alright? Tsubaki said as I wandered into my room, the only light being our desk light and a few lit scented candles.

"Yeah, all good," Maka mumbled, as she closed the door behind her. It felt as if everything was moving in slow motion, as if every breath she took lasted a century.

"We all saw everything from the window in the lounge, I nearly had a freakout when I remember you said you were heading down there earlier," Tsubaki said as she sat up in her bed, the sleeve of her silk pajama top slipping off her shoulder and exposing her collarbone. "I'm glad everyone is okay."

Maka nodded and plopped down in her own bed, smoothing out a wrinkle in the baby pink quilt with her hands.  
She felt numb.  
"You sure you're okay?" Tsubaki asked, concern in her navy blue eyes.

"Just a still a little out of it from the smoke inhalation, I guess." Maka shrugged as she laid on her back, staring up at the blank ceiling like she did on the nights when she couldn't sleep because her mind was too busy buzzing with nerves. She usually texted Soul when she felt that way.  
Did the school say anything about it?"

"Yeah, they're gonna put in a new fence around the perimeter, high enough that you can't lug yourself over like before. Marie was saying that were even debating to string some barbed wire ontop or put in an electrical current," Tsubaki said, laying down on her back, too. Her long black hair streamed over the side of her bed and shone in the dim candle light.

"As if this place wasn't a prison already," Maka said, surprised that a soft giggle came out of her. It broke a little piece of her heart that the space in the trees was suddenly gone- even if the school didn't decide to fence it all off, their area still would have been burnt away. "I'm gonna miss it there."  
Tsubaki nodded in agreement even though she rarely hiked out there with the group.

Maka smiled even though a few hot tears began to spill from her eyes.  
"It sucks. It sucks to think that like, there won't be another day where we stay out there past midnight sitting in the trees while Kim gets so drunk she forgets her name and we all listen to music on that shitty little radio from 2007. Or there won't be another time where me and Soul head out there and just listen to the crickets while he talks about his favorite bands and why blue raspberry slushies are the best thing to drink…"

"Maka, are you crying?" Tsubaki asked, rolling on her side to face her.

"I'm...I'm just really upset over the forest," Maka hesitated, shaking her head. The numbness began to fade and turned into a stabbing pain in her gut that made her wanna scream and vomit.

"Maka, what happened?" Tsubaki said as she propped herself up on her elbows. "I know something happened, Maka. I can hear it in your voice."

Maka sat up, her baby hairs wet from the tears and sticking to her cheeks. She shook her head. "Soul broke up with me. Like, ten minutes ago outside the dorm."

"What?" Tsubaki said, disbelief in her voice and face.

"And he cheated on me," Maka said before Tsubaki could ask any more questions. "He ditched me at this party last night and got drunk and high and slept with some other girl." Tears began to well up in her eyes once again.  
"He couldn't even say that he loved me."

* * *

Crona

" _So what have you been up to?"_

Kid shrugged, pacing his bedroom and eyeing the large bookshelf covering his wall as if it was the first time he ever saw them. "The same as usual, I guess. Either holed up in here or school."

Crona nodded, leaving a few moments of silence hanging in the air. His room had changed so much in the past four years. It was neat as usual but all the posters of art and movies had been stripped of the walls, leaving them bare and blank. The books on the walls evolved from colorful novels in a variety of languages to thick, black textbooks. It was more like a ghost of his former self.

"You?" Kid said breaking the silence, taking his eyes of the books and shifting his gaze over to Crona. "How have things been at home?"

"The usual, too, I guess," Crona whispered, feeling a little sick knowing that Medusa had a hand in murdering Kid's mother. Did Kid hold that against him? But then again, it seemed like that was the reason why the two of them even began speaking again. The thought still infuriated him, though. "You're doing okay?"

"Yeah," Kid shrugged, sitting down next to him on the bed, "Better than everything that happened last year, which is a good thing...You sure that you're doing okay?"

"Yup," Crona said with a tight smile. It hurt to sit here next to someone he used to be so close to, someone who he could talk to for hours on end and not get choked up. But now talking to him was almost like talking to all the other blank faces he passed by in the hall, awkward and uncomfortable.

"I know it's been awhile," Kid said, turning over what he wanted to say in his head, "And I know I'm probably the world's biggest asshole-"

"You're not," Crona said, "You're not an asshole. I mean, what happened was shitty, but I guess both of us weren't in the right place. I don't know how to say it; it was such a long time ago, and you shouldn't still be beating yourself up over it."

"But you were so good to me, and I hurt you, and I didn't give a shit," Kid said, shaking his head. "But I want you to know that I'm still here for you, and if you don't trust me anymore, I understand that too. I just want you to know I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Crona said, "And thanks, for still being here. And I know that I don't have any good advice and that I never know what to say, but I'm still here for you, too."

A small smile grew on Kid's face. "Thanks."

* * *

Soul

"Hey, where you headed?" Black-Star asked, spinning his desk chair around as the sound of his keyboard clicking ceased. Soul moved about the room, shoving in extra clothes and a stick of deodorant into his school bag. "Soul?"

"I'm just heading out, Jesus Christ," Soul said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "Why are you so up my ass all of a sudden?"

"Jeez, sorry," Black-Star said, turning back to his face his computer. "Are you staying the night at the hospital with Maka? I swore Tsubaki texted me that she was discharged earlier."

Soul scoffed and stepped out of the room after jamming on his faded red converse, slamming the door shut behind him without another word.

Yeah, he knew he was being a dick, but could you blame him? I mean, he did just do the most dickish things in the world- cheat on his girlfriend, break her heart, and then yell at his roommate. You know what, I'd blame him.

The dorm room now a couple miles away, Soul walked down an unlit street with the only source of light being the moon and a few windows lining the road.  
"So this is the place?" Soul said as he stepped into the tiny studio apartment, the exposed yellow light bulb hanging from the ceiling flickering.

"Yeah, this is home for now, I guess," Ren smiled as she locked the door behind Soul, the chain lock jingling against the door. "The rent is manageable if I can make good enough tips waitressing, which I hope won't be a problem. But pretty sweet to have your own place, huh?"

Soul nodded, plopping down on Ren's bed that sat in the middle of the space with a creak. The room was bare minus a tall mirror leaning against the wall and a potted eucalyptus plant sitting on a nearby crate. The place smelled like vanilla and skunk.  
"I can't believe you're actually going to be staying into Death City."

"Happy?" Ren smiled, plucking a half smoked cigarette from the plant pot and lighting it. She plopped on the bed next to Soul, and handed him the cigarette. "I've missed you," she smiled.

"I've missed you too," Soul said, taking a puff. "This isn't tobacco."

Ren grinned. "I know," she winked, sliding off the bed's cotton sheets.

"So that's what reeks," Soul smiled, taking another hit. "How'd you afford this?"

"Secret," she said with a grin, "I'm running to the bathroom."

Soul shook his head and plopped down on the bed, taking another puff as he felt himself unwind with each breath he took. He lolled his head to the side and caught his reflection in the mirror, the glass stained with finger prints and a lipstick kiss.

" _I wonder if Maka's okay,"_ Soul thought, wondering if Tsubaki was there to comfort her. Wondering if the whole girl gang was there, with Tsubaki and Jackie patting her back while she sobbed as Kim came up with plans on how exactly she was going to kick his ass. What was it going to be like at school tomorrow? He wouldn't walk her to her first period class or wait for her at her locker after study hall. He wouldn't make fun of her for how she still drank juice boxes made for children at lunch and steal bites of her fries. It'd be different.

"I've been standing here in nothing but this for five minutes," Ren said, snapping Soul back to reality or however close he could physically step into reality with the room now lightly clouded with smoke.

"Sorry, just thinking," Soul said, sitting up as Ren sat down next to him once again, except now her faded blue jeans and tank top were replaced with a lace two-piece lingerie set.

"About?" She asked, untwisting her deep purple hair out of bun and letting it fall in waves at her shoulders. She was beautiful.

Soul shrugged. "Nothing," he said, wrapping an arm around her as she took the blunt out of his hand and took a puff.  
"Nothing important."

Was it? It was a high school relationship- that's all it really was in the end of it all. He couldn't count on his fingers all the girlfriends that each of his friends had in a year alone. It wasn't a big deal, people hook-up and break-up and time goes on and that's that. Maka would get over it and realize that too, hopefully.  
She'd be alright.

* * *

Maka

"Are you feeling alright?"  
Tsubaki's words hung in the air as the world materialized around Maka as she mindlessly ran a brush through her blonde hair, the strands now nearly reaching halfway down her back from letting it grow out.

"Yeah," Maka murmured as she caught her own eyes in the small hanging mirror above her desk. Her eyes were puffy and her nose was still a bit pink under a thin layer of make-up. The last thing she wanted was for Soul to see her as a complete mess.  
A pang of hurt punched her in the gut.  
Would he act like nothing happened and continue sitting with the group? Would he still talk to her? Would he even be at school at all today?

"Yo, you guys ready?" Jackie called out as she busted into the door room, her hair perfectly curled with thick black gel lining her eyes as usual. "I've been waiting in the hall for the past five minutes."

"Don't act like you're never late because there's been quite a few mornings where you insist on spending an extra twenty-minutes repainting your nails," Kim huffed as she stepped in, leaning against the door frame with a small smile on her face.  
She nudged her chin towards Maka. "What's up with you?"

Maka shook her head as she quickly swiped on a coat of lipgloss.  
"Nothing at all."

...

Nobody's words made sense.  
They all walked down the halls as usual, Tsubaki yelling at Black-Star for staying up too late on his computer and not doing his math homework while Kim teased Jackie by pulling on her curls or trying to smear her lipstick.

"Is Soul ditching again today?" Jackie asked, smiling as she swatted Kim's hand away from her dark brown locks. "No one said anything in the group chat last night."

Maka's eyes hovered over to Tsubaki who stared blanky back with a shrug.  
"He ran off somewhere last night and took his bag with him," Black-Star said meeting the girls' eyes, "Seemed pretty pissed off; he hasn't legitimately yelled at me since, hell, I don't even remember."

"He yelled at you? Like legit?" Jackie asked, "About what?"

"I thought he was going to visit you at the hospital, so I just shrugged it off as him being stressed out about it or something," Black-Star said, pointing at Maka, "But you got out yesterday afternoon, no?"

Before Maka could come up with the words or make an excuse, she caught the glimpse of his red eyes.  
There he was walking down the opposite end of the hall towards them, his hands shoved into the pockets of his uniform pants walking side by side with Tsugumi and Akane as well as a few unfamiliar faces tagging close-by them.  
And he walked right by her. Not even acknowledging that she was there at all. As if she was just another nameless face that he passed by everyday in the hallway. No words, no recognition, no nothing. And it hurt a lot more than the disgusted look Tsugumi shot her and the cold stare hanging on Akane's face.  
"Maka!?" Tsubaki called out to her as she sped-off opposite to the direction Soul was heading in, her speed-walking turning into a full on dash as she flew down the halls. Her peers watched and whispered, but it didn't matter. She just had to get out.

...

"What happened?"  
Kid's voice was sharp and serious as she buried her face into the smooth, velvety fabric of his blazer. Her face burned red and the cool metal of the school's eblem worn as a pin on his chest felt nice and cold against her forehead. "Maka," he said again, pushing the damp strands of hair out of her face, "What's wrong?"

She pulled away and a gust of cool, humid morning air billowed her school skirt. The morning sun shone down and felt a bit brighter up on the stone balcony, it was a little thing like the that that made her feel a bit better for a moment.  
"Soul," she muttured, sniffling a little before Kid pulled a tissue out of his shirt pocket and handed it to her.

"What did he do?" Kid asked as Maka wiped the black streams of mascara running down her cheeks, "Did he hurt you? I'll kill him if he did."

"Don't be mad," she said, a small laugh bubbling out of her. "Promise you won't actually go kill him."

Kid sighed. "Alright, as long as you tell me what's wrong. But I always have the right to fire another paintball in his face."

Maka laughed again; it was bittersweet, but the feeling was nice.  
"He cheated on me," she said, wondering how many times she'll have to repeat this story and to how many people. How wild it was this story even existed for her to say. "That girl he thought passed away, Ren, she's alive. And he got fucked up and slept with her, and then he told me and dumped me, and I don't know...I don't know if he loved me."

"Maka…" Kid said, squeezing her shoulders. She could tell that he was angry, beggining to bubble over as his hands slightly twitched.

"And he's with Akane and Tsugumi, and I didn't think it could get any worse, but I think it just did and it fucking sucks. It fucking sucks and I hate this feeling and I can't believe that twenty-four hours ago he was my best friend and now he walked by me as if I was nobody. Fucking nobody, Kid." Maka said inbetween sobs, surprised how many times she had just dropped the F-bomb. Maybe she was hanging around Kim a little too much.

"You don't deserve that," Kid said as he pulled her back into his arms. "You don't deserve any of that crap, Maka, okay? You're not nobody, you're a somebody. You're a wonderful person that anybody would be damn blessed to be able to call you their best friend. And Soul's the world's biggest idiot for throwing that away." He shook his head as he ran his hand through her hair.  
"I'm going to need one fucking huge paintball."

* * *

 _Soul_

It oddly felt like sophomore year. In that weird nostalgic way that twists your gut and kind of makes you want to smile.  
It was back at that lunch table that people were always glancing at with the feeling that you were on top of the school. It felt like being at the top of the world.

"Where were you last night?" Tsugumi asked, peering up from her cell phone screen. Her face of make-up covering up a bad hangover with her hair thrown into a messy bun. "I tried calling you, but it went straight to voicemail."

Soul shrugged, leaning back into his chair and folding his arms above his head. "Out with my girlfriend."

"That Maka girl, right?" Tsugumi said. Her voice sound annoyed, but Soul passed it off as her being tired.

"No, not anymore," Soul said.  
It was weird to answer no- that Maka was _not_ his girl friend. "You know Maka, though?"

"It's hard not to know her," Akane laughed, "She's one of the top students here, and your girlfriend- or, uh, ex-girlfriend now, I guess. Plus she's always hanging around the Headmaster's son."

Soul nodded, he didn't think his friend group before was such a big deal or that other students talked about them like in those cliché high school movies. There didn't seem to be that much to keep track of.  
"Who's the new girl you rebounded with?" Ren asked. She blew a large bubble with the wad of pink chewing gum in her mouth, the bubble bursting with a loud pop. "You moved on pretty quick to a new chick after Maka dumped you."

"She's not a rebound," Soul said.  
"And _I_ broke up with her."

Ren's mouth parted to say something back as she rested her head on her fist, but her eyes hovered upward behind Soul.

" _Soul?"_

Soul craned his neck to the side.  
"Yeah?" Soul said, his voice quieter and his expression more serious than his usual laid-back attitude when he noticed Kid looming behind him. He had a feeling he knew what this was about.

Kid's facial expression was soft, but Soul could see the anger in his eyes. He motioned for Soul to follow him.  
"Can we talk for a minute?"  
The sounds of laughter and never-ending chatter was muffled as the glass cafeteria doors shut behind Kid and Soul, leaving the two of them in the empty, silent hallway.  
Soul leaned against the wall and watched the marble floor stretch off to his right, the light gleaming off the smooth surface seeming more bright and irritable than usual.  
"Are you even going to look me in the eye?" Kid asked. Soul held in a sigh and turned his head to catch his yellow eyes. They were definitely way more than just angry.

"Kid, look-" Soul began, easing himself off the wall.

"No, I don't want to hear any bullshit excuses," Kid said angrily, "I don't want to hear the ' _I did it for her'_ or the ' _I know I hurt her and I feel sorry'_. Do you understand me? One of my best friends is absolutely torn the fuck down because of all the shit you've done, and you don't even give a crap."

"Kid, I _do_ give a crap!" Soul whispered fiercely back.

"No, you really don't, and I don't think you've realized what you've done," Kid said before Soul could have a chance to speak again. "Right now you're too caught up in whatever you believed was better than her, but you're going to realize how badly you fucked up."

"I hate when you act like a smart-ass," Soul snapped back. "You speak in that fucking know-it-all way, just like your fucking father."

"What the hell did you just say to me?" Kid said, gritting his teeth.

Soul's face began to feel warm as anger boiled inside him. "I know what I did and I know what I feel. You have no place talking like this, okay? This situation was between me and Maka and it's over. There's no need for you butt your ass in where it's not wanted. Just get the hell out, Kid."

Kid scoffed. "You're such a fucking pussy."

The next few moments were a blur of movement and color, but one thing for sure is that Soul threw the first punch. The sound of Kid slamming Soul against the glass doors echoed through the quiet hall that eventually filled with students spilling out from the cafeteria.  
Eventually he felt a firm grasp on his shouders as he was pulled back, causing Soul to rip the skull brooch off of Kid's shirt collar before he let it fall to ground.

" _Enough!"_ Stein shouted, silencing the entire hallway minus the sound of Kid's brooch shattering against the marble floor. The small silver and black crystals exploded across the tiles, sparkling in the pale sunlight that began to pour in from the large ceiling-tall windows.

"What the hell has gotten into you two?" Coach Sid said, standing opposite to Soul as he held Kid back. A stream of blood pooled from his lip and stood out against his pale skin along with a ring of black under his left eye.  
Soul picked Headmaster Death in the crowd, his unusual height and bald head standing out in the groups of teenagers. He didn't look happy.

"C'mon," Stein said he pulled Soul back while Sid lead Kid in the opposite direction. He walked backwards and kept his eyes trained on Soul's.  
Maka appeared out of the crowd, pushing her way out from the commotion. She glanced back at Soul before following after Kid.  
She didn't look too happy either.

 _To be continued..._

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A/N: Um yeah here's the next chapter guys. Hope you liked it, and hmu with some reviews because I wanna know how ya'll are feeling it. See you next chapter ~


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